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Jakarta Post

Bamboo barrier brouhaha

The government's response to the "mysterious" bamboo fence installed off the coast of Tangerang has left the public wanting and sets a bad precedent in protecting our coastal communities and marine ecosystems.

Editorial board (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, January 17, 2025

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Bamboo barrier brouhaha A bamboo fence stretching several kilometers stands on Jan. 11, 2025, in the coastal waters of Tangerang, Banten. (Antara/Azmi Samsul Maarif)
Versi Bahasa Indonesia

T

he mysterious appearance of a makeshift bamboo fence spanning 30 kilometers in the coastal waters off Tangerang, Banten, has increasingly raised eyebrows since the beginning of the year.

It was dubbed a “mystery” because no one seemed to know who built it and for what purpose, until a group called Jaringan Rakyat Pantura (North Coast People’s Network) claimed responsibility for the sprawling offshore barrier.

According to its spokesperson, coastal communities in the area had pooled their money to start installing the fence around four months ago in a battle against coastal erosion. The claim raised immediate doubt, as it was estimated that they would need at least Rp 4 billion (US$244,185) just to pay for the bamboo poles and other materials.

Maritime and fisheries authorities from the provincial to the national level wasted no time in sealing off the fence. They also launched an investigation that discovered the structure was illegal because it did not have the proper permits, including the marine spatial utilization activity (KKPRL) license, and posed potential harm to the local marine ecosystem.

Credit should go to the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and related authorities for taking swift action. But they stopped there and didn’t dismantle the illegal structure, with the minister citing a procedural requirement to identify who was responsible for financing and building it.

Enter President Prabowo Subianto, who has ordered the fence be demolished and an investigation be opened to uncover those behind it, as communicated by People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Ahmad Muzani.

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Nonetheless, the incident has exposed authorities’ potential incompetence, as this was not the first time the makeshift offshore barrier had been brought to their attention.

According to news outlets, the Banten Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency said it had first received reports about the structure in August 2024, when the fence was only 7 km long. But they decided not to take action, apparently because of a lack of recommendations from district officials and complaints from local residents.

Both the ministry and its Banten counterpart should have done a better job by enhancing surveillance and taking firmer action against any structures built in coastal zones. It goes without saying that they should focus on illegal builds.

Millions of people live along Indonesia’s nearly 55,000 km coastline, and at least 17 million of them depend on the sea for their livelihood. Unplanned, arbitrary and rickety offshore barriers like the one in Tangerang only make their lives harder.

The ministry’s probe also revealed that the bamboo fence had disrupted the local environment and marine biodiversity, adding to the bad news for sea creatures that are already threatened by climate change.

The evidence collected is strong enough for authorities to dismantle the fence; if they don’t, it’ll simply raise more suspicion among the public, which in turn will erode public trust further.

This is how the government sparked widespread controversy and backlash when it justified deforestation to support the expansion of oil palm plantations.

Since it’s losing on land, the government has another shot on the marine front and should therefore act assertively against any illegal structures erected on the country’s vast coastline, whatever the reason and whoever is behind it. Our seas and coasts should remain open to safeguard the welfare and livelihoods of coastal communities while protecting against biodiversity loss.

Dismantling the Tangerang fence is a start. If the government doesn’t do that, perhaps it will only be a matter of time until similar makeshift barriers are installed off the archipelago’s coasts and before we know it, someone will stand up and claim a beach as theirs.

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